A Healthy Disrespect

Hello South Korea, Netherlands, Romania, and Poland and welcome to the blog...lots to catch-up on so let us all to be getting stuck in...and a pre-emptive apology for not getting to the Bike Lanes today...I consider this a very serious issue with many aspects and worthy of a full post, so promises he said, a full post tomorrow on Bike Lanes, Public Transport, the Rail Lands/Corridor debasco (debacle/fiasco), etc...

Went to Portland (Victoria) on Friday for my latest appointment re ma' knees and am on the list for an arthroscopy on one, a replacement for the other...(but you already knew that-Ed)...indeed, but had to sign stuff to get in line and stuff...(oh right-Ed)...which means that, minus say 3 months for appointments I missed because it is a 3hr+ round trip, that it's taken about 4 months even less to get a referral to Portland Hospital, an appointment with the specialist there, an immediate appointment for an MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) scan in Warrnambool, a follow up in Portland and now I'm already on the public waiting list for surgery...

I offer in contrast my experience of the last 5-6 years of an uncaring GP and surgeon in Mt Gambier who in that time couldn't between them even organise an appointment in Adelaide to see if I'd get an MRI and never even mentioned Portland, etc...5+ years and not even the ridiculous 'appointment to see if I'd even get an appointment'...it is a clear indication of the gaping chasm between Health Care provision in Regional SA and Regional Victoria, a chasm widened by the practitioners I've had stuff me about so badly in Mt Gambier...(wow, say what you really mean-Ed)...no, forget them...

Forget them because I was already in trouble with my knees when I started down this road, and their collective incompetence and disinterest mired in bigotry and judgementalism have destroyed whatever hope I had of repairing that damage, next stop, The Bionic Hippy...(ok, ok sorry, I know your knees always hurt, and now one's completely rooted, I'm sorry, you're right, you have every reason to be furious and scathingly critical...it clearly goes way beyond mere incompetence and into the realms of deliberate maltreatment...and didn't you have problems with the same GP and the Disability Support Pension stuff?-Ed)...ah yes, thankyou so much for reminding me...

After years of being rudely shunted around the Disability Sector in Mt Gambier, I finally wound up with a professional psychologist who immediately diagnosed massive Chronic Depression, Agoraphobia, etc, but my GP initially refused to sign off on it...(whatta' bastard-Ed)...indeed...and please excuse Ed and I unloading anonymously on these 2 clowns re my knees, but it's probably best given what I'm currently saying about their multiple gross failures to engage in my Health Provision, and any potential future actions re these issues...

It's one thing to make genuine mistakes, even critical ones, but I'm not going to put up with some goose who has deliberately mucked me about and failed to provide even basic care let alone support...sounds like a bit of a whinge I know but I'll spell it all out in a post because I do genuinely believe that these 2 have deliberately stuffed me about, and at best have allowed their personal biases and opinions compromise the care I should have received...neither should ever happen...to anyone...

The Mayoringly Obvious: this is clearly a situation where the gross underfunding of facilities and services, and the $27m just spent on the Mt Gambier hospital will make little difference, particularly with Mental Health Care provision, these failures to fund and/or staff properly, combined with the escalating state debt and unrelenting Adelaidecentric governance, both courtesy of Labor, means that as Mayor of Mt Gambier I will happily albeit sans choice actively engage with the Western Victorian Health Services as being unfortunately vital to improved Health provision for Mt Gambier...

I put it to several people in Portland that my recent experience with them and Warrnambool confirms a point I've made previous like on this 'ere blog, namely, that Mt Gambier is in the 'Provision Catchment' of both these Victorian hospitals...the second largest city in SA and we have to go across that bloody imagined dotted line, that cartographic construct that sticks Mt G in the arse end of nowhere, in the bottom corner of who gives a damn... 

I note that in the same week that Turkey officially opened it's borders to accept refugees fleeing the violence in Iraq, that we sent Immigration Minister Scott Morrison to quaff champagne with the Cambodians to celebrate sending 5 Refugees there ...at a cost of $40m...pop!...that's champagne Foreign Policy right there that is...(wooooo...sorry, hang on, did you say 5?-Ed)...yep...(not 500, or even 50, 5?-Ed)...4 or 5, you know, don't want to rush into anything, commit to unachievable numbers and then have to pare it back...($40m for 5 people?-Ed)...not quite, $40m across 4 years, starting with 5 people in the first year...

(Tell you what...bring 'em to my house at say, $1m a piece, and I'll see they live a life of luxury, security and joy...and I won't have too bad a bloody time of it either cheers knuckleheads, I'm off to the Caymans-Ed)...but you don't have the money yet...(dah shit, I just got all excited and stuff...and it was such a good plan too-Ed)...yeah nah, never mind...moving on...

Didn't watch the AFL Grand Final yesterday, just can't be bothered anymore, it's an entirely corrupted and confected result mired in Victorian belief that they own 'football'...ít is run as a business not a sport...(isn't Port Adelaide the oldest, most successful club in the country?-Ed)...shhh, I'd thank you to not go bringin' ya' facts and truths onto this 'ere blog...when I look at the AFL I see so many things that are so wrong with our society...the AFL is the biggest boys club in the country and is completely compromised by a pro-Victorian agenda and associated corruption...

For some reason Round 6 2006 leaps into my mind as the day that the AFL decided that they had to regain control of their precious baby...on that date I reckon you'll find that nearly all the top 8 teams are 'interstate' with most of the last decades Premierships...even if that's just something I've concocted for myself at that time it's a fair summary of what's played out since...it's irrefutable that the entire AFL timetable is organised around ensuring Collingwood plays in certain 'blockbuster' games, eg, ANZAC Day...not my theory, I saw part of an interview with then AFL CEO Andrew Demitriou where this was put to him and he agreed, stating that it's because 'they have a big following'...(so it's 'bums on seats, laddie, bums on seats'?-Ed)...exactly...

How many games have I watched where dodgy umpiring keeps one team, usually Victorian most probably Collingwood, keeps them in the game until they can play for themselves...to quote my own joke 'ít looks like one team throws the ball to each other while the other team hits them in the head, and Collingwood gets the free kick'...(hilarious because it also covers Rugby, just with whatevs team for the NRL-Ed)...well it sure as heck ain't that whatevs Queensland team, because I remember an interview with their captain Thingy Thurstons (?) from last year when he straight out said they'd been shafted 2 years running and the whole thing was crook...

I've all but given up watching any sport, eg, Cricket, Rugby, etc...I watched some of the NRL (National Rugby League) finals and generally I've got no idea what's happening but even the commentators were identifying 'unfortunate decisions' that cost 2 teams their respective games, and that that one Queensland team had been knocked-out of the finals 3 years in a row now by dodgy refereeing decisions...this is what the experts were saying on the TV commentary...it appears that New South Wales considers it 'owns' the NRL as the Victorians reckon they own the AFL...

Most Unfortunate: when doing a story on morning TV about Pacific islands threatened by rising sea levels, under the heading, 'We Are The Canary' and in the ticker underneath runs 'RAAF to start bombing today'...they were of course referring to the current 'mission' in Iraq...(whatever 'mission' actually means-Ed)...well observed sir, well observed...(but you're right, it wasn't so much funny as jarring...getting "our hands to the plower", now that's funny-Ed)...'plower'? what's a plower?...(I'll explain tomorrow...

Just looking at my statistics page stuff for the 600th post and was surprised but not shocked that one of the leading 'Referring URLs' is also a direct link to multiple dating sites and/or straight to porn, webcams, etc...I was genuinely dismayed that a number of these sites were/are spruiking how their site will help you have extra-marital affairs without having to try too hard...(that really is rather sad-Ed)...indeed...for all my faults and failings, I have very strong beliefs re personal respect, etc, and that includes fidelity in a relationship/marriage/whatevs...being married and going onto websites to cheat, this is stuff that just seems really wrong and really sad...

(Does this mean people are searching for porn and winding up on your blog, or searching TMGI and finding porn, or even that it's just one of those 'trawling sites' that have keywords attached to draw in unrelated search enquiries?-Ed)...ummm, I have no idea, but I'd guess the last one...

Tomorrow: A Full Bike Lanes Post 

Excuse please these last coupla' jolty posts sans humour, but I'm trying to spend as much time away from the house as possible which means dragging this into the night 'cos I don't have a bloody laptop at the mo' to work on during the day...

Written and Authorised by Nick Fletcher, 16 Kooringa St, Mt Gambier...yes, I know it seems a little ridiculous to keep saying this but as best I can tell it's the appropriate thing to do re the Local Government Election...cheers and laters...